30DAC – Day 26: Best Anime Fight

I was going to choose Ed vs. Envy near the end of FMA as that fight, next to Ed vs. Greed, is one of the best animated and choreographed fight scenes in the entire series. Plus, the two major twists at the end of the fight were mind blowing.

However, I felt like there was another FMA fight that was way too entertaining to pass up. Ed vs. Roy.

In the episode titled Fullmetal vs. Flame, Ed is up for his State Alchemy assessment to renew his certification. This entails a show of skill to the higher ups to ensure that they’re still good enough to be State Alchemists. It also seems like you may need to one-up yourself on every assessment to ensure that you’re also improving. At least that’s how Tucker’s case seemed to present itself.

After getting fed up with Roy’s attitude and knowing that he was keeping secrets about Dr. Marco, a man who might have information on the Philosopher’s Stone, he decides the perfect demonstration for his assessment would be an alchemy battle between him and Roy.

And what a battle it is. For the most part, this battle is played up entirely for laughs. Ed spends much of the fight running from Roy’s explosions while Roy spends a good deal of the fight taunting him. Roy even starts attacking the audience to get to Ed (with no major injuries of course, being a comedy fight for the most part.)

I told you guys not to eat that candy from Willy Wonka’s factory.

The tides turn in the smoke with a decoy from Ed, who comes up from behind to slash his glove off of his hand. The transmutation circle on his glove is the main way he makes his flames, so Edward thinks he’s won, especially when he decides to make this insanely huge friggin’ cannon to finish it off.

The cannonballs must be the size of my house.

 

But Roy’s not down for the count as he reveals he has another transmutation glove on his left hand and blows up the cannon.

The most interesting thing about this battle is, by all means, Edward should’ve lost. The only way the fight ended up in a stalemate, or if you want to push it, Edward winning, was only because of Roy’s war flashback. That made for a really tone-shifting ending btw. This entire fight, from even before it started, was completely comedy with Hughes’ gigantic picture of his daughter to people booing or making fun of both Edward and Roy when being introduced, then at the very, boom, war flashback.

I guess it doesn’t really matter who won since it was the demonstration itself that meant to impress, but still.

This fight is just so much fun. It’s nice to see Edward actually take on Roy and it’s always fun to see Roy showing off. They play off of each other really well and their comedic chemistry just shines in this fight. Not to mention how over the top and crazy it is. It is definitely a fight I can keep watching over and over and still be smiling all the way through.

Uh oh, I’ve only been using stills this entire time. I have….no gifs? Okay, okay. Don’t panic!

I said don’t panic!

It’ll be okay! Just look at the baby Alphonse!

Okay, I just wanted an excuse to use this. Is that so wrong?

30DAC – Day 25: Saddest Anime Death

(Welcome. You’re in Spoiler City) I had no internal debate about this one, because this death always, and I mean always makes me cry. It was so sad that merely hearing music associated with it makes me cry.

The main character, Teito Klein’s, absolute best and only friend is Mikage Celestine. They are Zaiphon users who were training their abilities in the Barsburg Military Academy to become soldiers. Teito is a former sklave (basically a slave) who has lost his childhood memories. He is captured by the Barsburg Empire and sent to the academy to become a soldier due to his great talent.

Teito isn’t very sociable, and he comes off as cold because of how he’s been treated throughout life, but the outgoing, gentle, lovable and just all around great guy Mikage eventually becomes best friends with Teito.

Despite his dislike of violence, he dreams of being a soldier so that he can protect his family, but he willfully gives up this dream to help Teito escape after he’s charged with treason by the church.

He’s tortured for information and even his family is threatened with death if he does not tell them where Teito is. He escapes as a one-winged Kor, which is basically a failed attempt at trying to possess someone with the Ghost ability. In this case, the main baddie of the show, Ayanami, tried to possess Mikage with it.

Once a person is turned into a one-winged Kor, there is no saving them and reverting them back to normal like you can with a full-fledged Kor. If left alone, the one-winged Kor will eventually consume the soul of the person being possessed. The only way to save their soul is to kill the Kor and the person being possessed.

Mikage faces Teito and Frau, a bishop at the church that Teito flees to and one of the titular 07 Ghosts, Zehel, and eventually sacrifices himself on Frau’s scythe.

Teito is crushed by this, and dammit so was I. He deeply mourns for quite some time until Frau finds a little baby Fyulong and reveals that Mikage was reincarnated into that baby Fyulong who wishes for nothing more than to be by Teito’s side forever and protect him, even if he can’t remember who he used to be.

I have never blubbered my eyes out for so long at a show, and it made it so I can’t hear several songs on the 07 Ghost soundtrack (which is incredible, btw) without at least wanting to cry. Especially Tree’s Filtered Sunlight and Be Pure, My Child and Sleep.

Must….not….cry…

The bond between these two and their loyalty to each other was just so amazing to watch and it pains me that we didn’t get to see more of Mikage because he truly was an awesome character that you’d just love to know in real life.

The only thing that keeps me from crying when looking at Burupya is…..dammit, he’s so cute! Look at his wittle ears and his tiny scar!

You’re the best emotional brain bleach ever, Burupya!

Honorable Mentions (still spoilers): Toboe from Wolf’s Rain, Wolfwood from Trigun, Hughes from FMA.